Dawning of a Red Moon
by Gaereth
Summary: Are you tired of chasing after Jinchuuriki? Are you sick of little brothers constantly seeking revenge? Don't worry, we got the cure for what ails you: three years paid vacation! Join our friends from the Akatsuki as they enjoy their break.


A Time for Peace…

AN: Have you ever wondered why Akatsuki waited three whole years before hunting down the Jinchuuriki? I have. Whilst pondering on the Akatsuki, my mind alighted on a certain series of events. Read, enjoy, and review.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, and I don't control the Akatsuki. A pity, to be sure.

The sound of a cock crowing echoed over the dim landscape, greeting the sun as it peeked its golden head over the horizon. Birds flitted from branch to branch, filling the early morning with sounds of melodious song. Squirrels and such others scampered here and there, looking for food with which to stuff their dens. And everywhere, one could hear the sound of nature waking up, the murmur of the wind through the trees. The forest was coming awake, and Uchiha Itachi was not ready for it.

"Ugh…" He moaned softly as rays from the morning sun struck his eyes, casting a painful blaze of light into the comfort of his sleep. Groggily, he rolled away from the offending sun, intent on once more submerging himself into blissful oblivion. Unfortunately, the spot onto which he had rolled himself was already taken by a particularly grumpy chipmunk. The tiny creature leapt away and shrieked shrilly at him, provoking a groan of pain from its victim.

"Oww…" He clasped his hands to his ears in an effort to drown out the high-pitched sounds that were tearing his hopes of slumber apart. Then, gathering his courage, he reached a hand blindly towards the ground next to him, looking sleepily for something to hurl at the furry nuisance. His groping fingers closed about a small rock, and he cast it at his attacker. The animal squealed and dodged the attack, letting loose one final screech before scampering off. He mumbled a nonsensical comment concerning the nature of the chipmunk's mother before stretching himself out again, resting his head softly on his arm. But, alas, fate was against him.

"Hey, look!" The shout echoed through the woods, setting the local wildlife into a panic. Amid the sounds of hastily running animals, Itachi found himself groaning again. This day had just begun, and it couldn't _possibly _get any worse. "It's Itachi! Yeah." His eyes slammed open in abject horror as he realized his danger. That tenor voice, that way of speaking, that incorrigible habit of adding 'yeah' to the end of each sentence… It could only be Deidara. His mind reeled in terror at the conclusion, provoking instant action from Itachi. All thoughts of further sleep were flown to the winds, and Itachi kicked himself into action, determined to not be caught so easily. At the very least, he'd put the 'artistic' bastard through one hell of a chase.

He kicked himself away from the ground with his feet, allowing the momentum to carry him backwards. Quickly, he flipped himself over and landed softly on his feet, his black cloak billowing from the movement. Then, in one swift motion, he was off, a black and red blur the only evidence of his passing. Not a minute later, another man dropped down into the same small clearing, looking from side to side in obvious confusion. His black clock was flapping slightly, causing the red clouds that dotted its surface to dance entrancingly. He ran a hand through his long blonde hair and turned around, his focus now on someone in the forest.

"Hey, he's gone! Yeah." Not waiting for a reply, he resumed his search of the surrounding area, and was soon joined by another person. The newcomer seemed very short and stout, wearing a straw hat with white streamers concealing his face. His cloak covered all that was not concealed by his hat, and was of the same design as the other: red clouds on a black sky. He shook his head slowly, his attitude one of exasperation.

"Of course he's gone. I'm sure he wouldn't want to be within ten miles of you." His deep and rugged voice seemed to cut the blonde man deeply, and he raised a hand theatrically to his art.

"Alas! The artist is never appreciated in his own time. Yeah." He bowed mockingly at his partner, who merely scoffed in reply. But, as he bowed, something on the ground caught his eye. All efforts at acting abandoned, he knelt down and examined the soil closely. Yes, just as he thought, there were imprints in the soft dirt; footprints, to be exact. He grinned as he traced the outline of the foot with his finger, noting the direction it was facing. Then he stood and reached his hand into a pouch set on his hip, turning to address his companion as he did so.

"Well, I'm going to chase him down! Are you coming, Sasori?" Sasori grunted and shook his head.

"Not a chance. I can't stand those birds of yours." Deidara grinned and pulled his hand out of the pouch, clenching it into a fist. Then he worked his fingers quickly, squeezing here, rubbing there, always moving.

"Aww, that's too bad. Flying is almost as fun as my art. Yeah." He gave his hand one final squeeze then opened it, revealing a tiny eagle made from white clay. He flung it into the air beside him and brought his hand up into a quick seal. In a puff of white smoke, the clay eagle expanded, growing as big as a horse. With arrogant ease, Deidara leapt onto the bird, landing softly on its back.

"Don't keep me waiting, Deidara." The blonde-haired man laughed at his grumpy companion's comment.

"Relax. This'll be over before you know it. Yeah." Ignoring Sasori's disbelieving scoff, he turned his attention to the bird below him. He tested the mental connection between his creature and him, making sure that he could control it well. Then, grinning in anticipation, he took off. The eagle's mighty wings flapped powerfully, sending gust of wind through the forest as it gained height. Soon, it was soaring through the air, and Deidara loved every second of it. But he couldn't lose his head; after all, he still had to catch Itachi.

He pushed his long golden hair out of his face, revealing a strange camera situated over his left eye. Reaching up to the side of it, he peered closely into the forest below, his eagle making slow sweeps over the trees. He searched for a few minutes, but could see no trace of the elusive Uchiha. He cursed silently beneath his breath. He couldn't let Itachi escape, not after the humiliation he had put Deidara through the first time he got away. No, the red-eyed pretty boy was going down. Deciding to not hold anything back, Deidara thrust both of his hands into the pouch at his hips, tearing free large hunks of white clay. Clenching his fists about them, he carefully kneaded the clay with his fingers, molding it into the shape he had in mind. Soon, he was done, and he opened his hands to show ten miniature sparrows in each hand. He tossed them out into the open air and grinned as they fell. Just before they hit the ground, he brought his right hand up to his face and formed a quick hand seal, his pinky and ring fingers curling into his hand while his index and middle fingers remained straight. The seal activated the chakra he had placed within the birds, causing them to expand in a cloud of white smoke, becoming ten normal-sized white sparrows.

The clay birds caught themselves before they hit the ground, their little wings beating furiously. With nary a glance at their creator, they dispersed, each one heading a different direction. Deidara grinned as he watched his clay art fly, a shiver of happiness coursing through him. It never ceased to amaze him how good it felt to watch something he created come to life. He grinned widely; it felt even better when he destroyed it. Suddenly, a flash of white caught his attention. Off to his left, one of his sparrows was flitting above the trees, obviously trying to catch his attention. Deidara directed his eagle towards the bird, knowing that it had found Itachi. A moment of discomfort passed over him as he wondered how someone as good as Itachi could have been found so quickly, but he shoved the thought away, calling the nine other birds to gather about him.

The eagle came to a slow stop next to the smaller bird, its mighty wings beating slowly as it hovered in midair. The ten swallows flitted about Deidara as he peered down through the tree cover, zooming in with his camera to get a better look. There, sitting with his back to a tree trunk, was Itachi, his eyes closed in slumber. A vein bulged in Deidara's temple; who did this Uchiha think he was, sleeping while being hunted? Well, he'd teach that bastard to take art seriously!

Opening his right hand, he pushed chakra into his palm, watching as the skin of it began to shift and tremble. He bit his lip in pain as a mouth emerged in his palm, eating its way through his skin. Then, the maw was still, and his palm was whole once more, save for the strange mouth that was now open in his hand. He grinned as he saw the jutsu take effect, and then set the palm of his hand against the clay in his pouch. Using the mouth on the palm, he tore a hunk of it free and swallowed it, molding it with his tongue while lacing it with chakra. Soon, the sculpture was done, and the mouth spat it back out, revealing a small figure of a two-headed dog. Deidara grinned and grabbed it in his left hand, examining it carefully. He frowned a little, disappointed by the quality. Apparently, his secondary mouths needed some time to adjust when activated. Oh, well, at least they worked.

He tossed the figurine down to the ground where Itachi lay, activating the jutsu that would complete it. In a puff of smoke, it had grown to the size of a small horse, and its black eyes were fixed on the snoring Itachi. It crouched down low to the ground and then sprung, biting its sharp teeth into Itachi's shoulder. The Uchiha snapped back into consciousness, and stared at the white dog with a look of horror. He started to form some seals, but Deidara got there first.

"Too late, yeah! KATSU!" As he shouted the word, the clay dog exploded, completely destroying the clearing it had been in. The explosion was so powerful that the shockwave nearly knocked Deidara's eagle out of the sky, and it had to flap wildly to regain control. But he wasn't finished just yet; he sent his nine of his ten birds down to surrounding the smoldering clearing. Once they were in position, he destroyed them as well, causing nine smaller explosions that cast flames everywhere, setting the forest ablaze. As the trees burned down, he laughed at the Uchiha's demise. "Haha! Art… sure is a blast! Yeah."

"So you keep saying." Deidara's eyes widened as he heard the voice behind him. He turned lightning quick, a kunai appearing in his hand. But, before he could strike, his wrist was seized and twisted, forcing him to drop the kunai. He looked at the hand that gripped him, before turning his eyes to look at the perpetrator. There, in all his grumpy glory, was Uchiha Itachi. Deidara gave him a sheepish grin.

"Oh… Hey, Itachi. Where'd you come from?" The Uchiha in question grunted, releasing Deidara's arm.

"I was on the bottom of your bird. By the way, congratulations on killing a clone. I could have killed you anytime." Deidara groaned in frustration, massaging his wrist to get the circulation flowing.

"Ugh, it figures. I guess I should have looked. Yeah." Quietly, his attention still focused on his wrist, he directed his final sparrow to fly under his bird, preparing to attack Itachi. "You realize that the game isn't over yet, right?" Itachi merely looked blankly at him, suppressing a yawn. Then, Deidara struck, ordering his sparrow to self-destruct on Itachi's back. The clay bird zoomed out from underneath the eagle, heading for Itachi at full speed. But Itachi was ready. Without so much as looking behind him, he grabbed the kunai that Deidara had pulled out and flung it behind him, piercing the swallow. The clay bird fell to the earth with the metal dagger embedded in its side, twitching for a few seconds before exploding.

Itachi glanced down at where the bird had been destroyed and shook his head. "Pity, wasting a good kunai like that." He turned his attention back to Deidara, his Sharingan blazing to life. "You. I thought I told you that I was through playing these games."

The blonde artist grinned sheepishly, his guilt written plainly on his face. "Hey, you're the only one who can get away! It's just not fun to chase slow people. It's not… artistic. Yeah." Itachi didn't bother to reply, his Sharingan still focused on Deidara. Finally, the blondie broke down, holding his hands up in surrender. "Fine, fine. I'll leave you alone, yeah."

Itachi nodded in acceptance, deactivating his Sharingan. "Good. Now, where's Sasori?" Deidara opened his mouth to reply but then paled in horror, clapping his hands to his forehead.

"Oh, shit! I kept him waiting! He'll kill me!" Deidara collapsed to his knees on the still-hovering eagle, pounding its clay back in frustration. Itachi sighed in exasperation and planted a neat kick into the clay-user's chest, sending him onto his back.

"Get up. I'll deal with Pinocchio, okay?" Deidara blinked at him in disbelief, than a grin spread over his face. He jumped to his feet and tackled Itachi, hugging him tightly.

"Thankyouthankyouhankyouthankyouthankyou!!!" He squeezed Itachi tightly, disregarding the Doujutsu-user's shouts of annoyance. Finally, Itachi managed to pry himself free of the artist, his Sharingan once more blazing crimson. Deidara backed away, bowing in apology. "Sorry, sorry, I got carried away. It's just that last time I kept him waiting, he stole my clay! I couldn't blow anything up for a month! Yeah." Itachi rolled his eyes.

"Oh, that must have been so _terrible_." Deidara nodded tearfully, having missed the sarcasm entirely. Itachi sighed; it was no fun when the idiot didn't even know he was being made fun of. The raven-haired ninja sat down on the back of the clay bird, closing his eyes lazily. "Get us back to where Sasori is. And don't talk to me. I'm tired." Deidara rolled his eyes at Itachi's excessive laziness, but obeyed his orders. After all, despite his attitude, Itachi was the second strongest member of Akatsuki, and Deidara didn't want to cross him. At least, not until he was good and ready.

After a quick mental nudge from Deidara, the clay eagle turned and flew quickly through the sky, making for the small clearing where Sasori waited impatiently, muttering death threats under his breath. The great bird touched down to the ground in front of the puppet-user, and Deidara and Itachi leapt off, the latter yawning widely. As soon as they were safely disembarked, the eagle took off once more, taking perch at the peak of a tree not far away. Sasori ignored the presence of the Uchiha, focusing all his attention and anger on the blonde artist.

"Deidara… I told you not to make me wait…" Deidara grinned sheepishly and opened his mouth to explain. However, before he could put voice to his words, a large metal tail shot out from behind Sasori, wrapping itself tightly about the blonde's throat. "I should kill you here and now." As he spoke, his tail began tightening about the blonde's skull, and muffled cries of pain could be heard from beneath the tail's segmented plates.

Itachi sighed and stepped between the other two, seizing the tip of the metal tail in his hand. Careful to avoid the poison on its tip, he pulled the tail free of Deidara and watched it slither back towards Sasori, disappearing under the puppet-user's robes. He turned to face Sasori and crossed his arms, his eyes blazing with the Sharingan.

"Akasuna no Sasori… do you have a death wish?" Itachi's monotone voice echoed oddly through the clearing, and Sasori made a surprised grunt.

"Eh? Was that a threat, Uchiha brat?" Itachi shook his head, his demeanor calm and controlled.

"No, merely a question." Then, to the surprise of Deidara and Sasori, he turned and seized Deidara by his cloak, throwing him high into the air. Then, as the blonde artist hung against the sky, Itachi slammed his hands together into the Tiger seal. "Katon: Goukyakyuu no Jutsu!" Bringing a hand to his lips, he blew hard, expelling an enormous fireball from his mouth. The great ball of flame flew straight towards Deidara, who looked too stunned to react. By the time he had stuffed his hands into his clay pouches, it was too late. Sasori listened in shocked silence as his erstwhile partner screamed in pain.

Then, something extraordinary happened. The fireball, in the middle of which was Deidara, seemed to shrink into itself for a moment. Then, with a sound like a thunderclap, it exploded outwards, smashing the fiery ball into mere embers. Itachi smirked as he saw globs of white clay drop to the ground, neatly avoiding a particularly large one aimed at his head. The Uchiha turned towards the large eagle, which was still perched on its treetop, and beckoned to it. The great bird took flight and soared down to them, landing softly in front of Itachi. Once it had landed, it disappeared in a puff of white smoke, revealing Deidara, alive and well. He smirked at Itachi and Sasori, glancing at the globs of white clay that dotted the area.

"Heh, looks like I was discovered. Yeah." Itachi returned his smoke, before turning to the puzzled Sasori to explain matters.

"Congratulations. You got suckered into attacking an exploding clay bunshin." Sasori growled softly as he realized the trick. Itachi's smirk merely grew as he witnessed his agitation. "If you had squeezed any harder, it would have been… interesting, shall we say?" Deidara chuckled at the vague description, and Sasori's anger was tempered with a little fear. He knew what those exploding clones could do at close range, having seen Deidara use them on missions before. Even with the protection of his puppet, he wasn't sure how he would have survived.

"Heh, looks like I tricked even you, Sasori! Now do you realize how great my art is? Yeah." Deidara grinned at his partner, glad to see that his little trick had rattled him so much. Sasori shook his head, unable to believe that Deidara, of all people, had managed to trick him.

"Deidara… I'll admit that I was momentarily startled… But I still haven't forgotten that you kept me waiting." Deidara's eyes widened, and he backed away quickly. But it was too late! Sasori's tail struck as fast as lightning, the tip of the tail severing the strap that bound Deidara's pouch to his leg. He cried and tried to grab it, but the tail was quicker, scooping it up and carrying it out of his reach. Sasori's tail slipped back into the depths of his robes, this time taking the pouch of clay with it. Deidara cried out like a mother parted from her child and lunged forward, desperate to get his clay back at all costs. But Itachi seized him by the wide collar of his robes and pulled him back, setting him not so gently on the ground.

"You deserved that, Deidara. Playing a prank on us like that. You're supposed to be an Akatsuki member, not some punk Genin. Act like it." Deidara turned teary eyes to him, but was met by the Sharingan's implacable stare. He withered before the crimson gaze and nodded despondently, his mind filled with sorrow at the loss of his art. Itachi nodded in reply and turned towards Sasori, his Sharingan once more deactivated. "I tire of looking at this puppet of yours. Put it away, will you?"

Sasori grunted an affirmative and, from within the shell of his puppet, he pulled a scroll out of his robe. Unrolling it, he sealed away his puppet into the scroll, watching as it disappeared in a puff of white smoke. Itachi gazed dispassionately as the true form of Sasori made itself known. He was short, and his appearance was that of an adolescent. He had bright red hair and light brown eyes, his robe concealing his features from the nose down. Itachi nodded once in approval. "You should travel like that. You look like an idiot using that puppet of yours."

Sasori's eyes narrowed in annoyance, and he glared hard at Itachi. "A fool like you wouldn't understand the functional beauty of my Haruko. Be silent about things you cannot comprehend."

Itachi raised an eyebrow at that comment, crossing his arms. "Oh? Functional beauty? As far as I can see, it's an overgrown scorpion. Not very functional _or _beautiful."

Sasori ground his teeth, anger bubbling within him. "So says the one with a shark for a partner. Who are you to speak of beauty, when Kisame is better looking then you are?"

"Someone mention a good-looking shark?" They turned at the unexpected voice to see none other than Hoshigake Kisame, standing on a branch nearby. He leapt down to stand near them, planting his sword, Samehada, into the ground at his feet. "I see my fame precedes me. Any _female _groupies here, by chance? I could do with some action." He turned and pointed at Deidara, who was laughing at Kisame's comment. "Sorry, Deidara, I mean a _real _woman, not a cross dresser." Deidara's mouth slammed shut, and he glared at Kisame.

"What? How am I a cross dresser? Yeah."

Kisame's mouth parted in a grin, revealing rows of sharp teeth. "Dude, look at that hair. And that weird dress thing."

Deidara gaped in confusion before realizing what Kisame meant. "Dress thing? This is the Akatsuki robe! You wear it, too!"

Kisame chuckled. "Yeah, but I look damn sexy, whereas you just look gay. Q.E.D."

Deidara growled at the blue swordsman, looking almost as shark-like as Kisame for a moment. Itachi, on the other hand, was looking amused, and even Sasori was doubled over laughing. Kisame leaned on the hilt of his sword, enjoying himself immensely. He loved to poke fun at people whenever he could, and Deidara made an easy target. However, he didn't want to provoke the explosive user more than he had to, since he didn't want to get riled up right now. Therefore, he turned away from the insulted Deidara and focused his attention on Itachi, who was stoic once more.

"So, what's going on here, Itachi? If there was a meeting, I missed the memo." Itachi shrugged, not bothering to meet Kisame's gaze. Instead, Sasori picked up the slack.

"Deidara tried to chase Itachi, and made a complete ass of himself. It was hilarious." Kisame grinned again, nodding sagely.

"Yeah, I bet. Hey, Sasori, you should use that puppet of yours less often. It's a lot easier to talk to you when I can look you face to face without kneeling." Sasori looked dubious, but Itachi was nodding as well.

"He's right, Sasori. And you also gain a sense of humor. That promotes conversation." Sasori's face was starting to clear, as his doubts were being wiped away. Except… Deidara decided that he had to contribute something to the conversation as well.

"Yeah, Sasori! Besides, you look a lot better without your puppet on. Yeah." For a moment, all was still. Three pairs of eyes turned towards Deidara, who was looking decidedly nervous. "What? What did I say?" Itachi, Kisame, and Sasori all exchanged glances, and, as one, began to laugh uproariously. Between chuckles, Kisame managed to choke out words.

"Dude, leave it to the gay one to talk about his looks." Deidara flushed with embarrassment and anger, but that was just the beginning. Sasori, regaining his breath, turned towards Deidara and lifted an eyebrow comically.

"Deidara… do you have any idea how fruity that sounded?" He shook his head and sighed mockingly. "I'm afraid I don't swing that way, Deidara-_chan_." The blonde clay-user was now supremely pissed, but it was Itachi's turn at bat, and he had a perfect batting average when it came to insults.

"Deidara-san, please refrain from flirting with your partner. It does not promote a healthy working environment, and it fucking creeps me out. " Kisame and Sasori cracked up all over again as they saw Deidara's mouth open and closing like a fish out of water, and the other three Akatsuki shared quick high fives, congratulating each other on the successful ownage of their 'sexually confused' comrade.

Deidara tried to think of something to say, but just couldn't find the right words. Turning from them, he folded his arms and stalked off, throwing a quick "Jerks!" back at them as he went. Sasori winked at the other two and brought his hands up, conjuring a tiny puppet of Deidara. In a high voice, he began to make the Deidara doll dance around crazily, singing in a high pitched voice about his desire to touch little boys. Itachi and Kisame were snorting in amusement, and by the time Sasori was done with his little puppet show, they were finding it hard to breathe around their laughter. After the duo rose and gathered their wits once more, they sat down to discuss what to do next. Kisame started things off, leaning back against a nearby tree.

"So, what are you and Deidara up to, Sasori?" The red haired Suna nuke-nin was lying on the ground, twiddling with a piece of grass.

"Not a whole lot. The leader had us hunting up information on Orochimaru's new village, but he just called us back to base. I don't know what he's got in mind, but I'm getting really tired of the constant work." Itachi, who had opted for standing so as to preserve his 'cooler-than-thou' image, nodded agreement.

"I know what you mean. He had us out scouting Konoha, getting information on the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, but then he called us back as well." Kisame groaned a little, fingering a small scar on his cheek.

"Ugh, I hated that village. It was cool and all until that bastard cut my cheek open." Then, he grinned, showing all his teeth. "Then again, the ladies dig those battle scars, right?" Itachi nodded again, but Sasori voiced his own opinion.

"Kisame, I don't think that qualifies as a scar. Looks more like a paper cut to me." Kisame grunted a little, ignoring his chuckling partner.

"Hey, it's no goddamn paper cut, okay? This guy who attacked me pulled some weird wind blade out of his ass. Then that green fag kicked me." Itachi smirked, remembering that fight.

"That's because you left yourself open, Kisame. You should know better than to rush into a battle." Kisame grimaced, turning his attention back to Itachi.

"Hey, I was just fine. It's not like I expected that green spandex-wearing freak to jump into the fight at the last minute. It's not very high on the list of 'Things that happen in Battle'." Sasori chuckled a little, tearing his blade of grass into pieces and grabbing himself a new one.

"True. But, enough of the green spandex, already. It put a _bad _image in my head. New topic, anybody?" For a moment, all three were silent. Then, Deidara reappeared, still slightly embarrassed from the terrible ownage he had experienced. Kisame waved at him and pointed at a nearby rock.

"Hey, bro. Take a load off, eh?" Deidara's expression cleared, since he knew that was Kisame's way of apologizing. He grinned thankfully at Kisame and sat down on the rock, unbuttoning the top couple of buttons on his robe.

"Whew, it is hot in this forest. How can you guys stand it in this heat?" The other three exchanged looks, not quite understanding. Sasori phrased the statement they were all thinking about.

"Um, Deidara, it's the middle of autumn. It's pretty cool out here." Deidara shrugged, realizing why they didn't understand.

"Well, it's probably just me, I guess. My old village was a lot further north than you three's, and I'm used to the cold. Yeah. Anyways, what are you guys talking about?" Kisame shook his head.

"Not a whole lot, man. We were just trying to think about something else to talk about. Got any ideas?" Deidara thought for a moment, then quickly came to an idea.

"As a matter of fact, yeah, I do. What do you think the leader's calling us back for?" This was met by shrugs all around, and Itachi voiced his opinion.

"Not a clue. It is strange that he would call us all back from our missions, especially when we had barely begun them." Kisame nodded, throwing an idea into the mix.

"Hey, what if he's gonna give us a break? You know, since we've been working so hard?" This idea set the others to thinking, but Sasori shook his head, seizing yet another sheaf of grass.

"Nah, I can't see him doing that. Kami knows I'd love a break as much as the rest of ya'll, but I don't see it happening anytime soon. I think he just has some kind of joint mission for us." Itachi raised an eyebrow, obviously doubting that explanation.

"I don't see what level of mission would require two Akatsuki members, let alone four of us. Not only that, but us four some of the more powerful members of our little club. No, I bet he's just going to reassign us some regular missions." That seemed feasible to the other members, but Deidara had an idea.

"Hey, what if he wants to change up the teams? Maybe he just wants to switch around a few of the members, yeah." That possibility joined the other three ideas, and they sat and thought for a moment. Then, Kisame grinned in that way only a shark can.

"Say, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" In unison, the four Akatsuki members shoved hands into their pockets, whipping their wallets out with amazing speed. They each reached into their billfolds and withdrew a large wad of notes, which was kept aside for just such times as this. Once all had cash in hand, Itachi began this most sacred and ancient ritual with a most holy intonation.

"10,000 ryo." Itachi grabbed a small wad of bills and tossed it onto the ground between the four members, and the other three followed suit. Then, Kisame carried on the ceremony, scoffing at Itachi's bid.

"Hah! That's chump change! 50,000!" There was a gasp from Deidara and Sasori. Such a high jump in bids was unprecedented, and even Itachi looked nonplussed. But, nevertheless, they forked out the dough and tossed it onto the pile, which signaled that it was Sasori's turn. He thought carefully for a moment, and then grabbed another chunk of bills, tossing it into the 'pot'.

"I'll see your 50,000, and raise you 15,000." The others followed suit, tossing in the amount, before all eyes turned to Deidara. The blonde bit his lip, thinking hard about his idea. If he was right, then he stood to gain a lot of money. But, if he bet a lot and was wrong… Throwing caution to the winds, he grabbed a large wad of cash and threw it in.

"25,000! Yeah." The others looked shocked that he had made such a bold bid, and Sasori was starting to look a bit nervous, but they all stayed in, their money joining the ever-growing pile on the ground. Now, the four were tense and wary, uncertain how much higher they were willing to go. It was Itachi's bid, and he was eyeing the pot with a studying gaze. There was already 100,000 ryo in there from each member, which a total of 400,000 and a profit of 300,000. That was a pretty penny, but he hoped to milk a little bit more out of them. He was confident enough in his idea to be relatively sure that was what the leader had in mind.

"25,000." Another rain of cash hit the pile, and it was Kisame's turn.

"Damn… I'll go for another 10,000."

Sasori. "Pass."

Deidara. "5,000. Yeah."

Itachi. "Pass."

Kisame. "Hmm… 15,000."

Sasori. "Umm… Ah, to hell with it. 10,000."

Now, the final bid of the game. Deidara grabbed what was left of his cash and counted it quickly, tossing it into the pile. "50,000! Yeah." Again, such a high number at the very end of the game was unprecedented, but they all paid up, and Itachi added up the pot.

"Well, gents, it looks like it comes to 860,000 ryo. Are you ready to seal it up?" The other three nodded, and they gathered round Itachi, who had unrolled a scroll. They each did a quick jutsu, which added their names to the scroll and placed a special seal on it for each person, so that whatever was sealed inside couldn't be unsealed without all four of them removing their own individual seals. Then, Itachi sealed the cash within the scroll and rolled it up, giving it to Deidara since he was the final bidder. As the clay-user pocketed the scroll, Sasori leaned towards him, his eyes gleaming with danger.

"If you lose that scroll, you'll lose your hands as well. I'll make sure of that." Deidara nodded, knowing that the threat was merely the final part of the gambling ritual they had developed. Kisame merely grinned toothily in a way that promised pain as punishment, then yawned and turned away.

"So, I guess we better get going, huh? We've got to get back to headquarters pretty soon." Itachi nodded.

"Yes. It should only take an hour or so at this rate, since we're already in River country." Sasori groaned and stood up, brushing dust off of his body.

"Well, then I suggest we go. I'd hate to keep the leader waiting." Deidara nodded, and turned an entreating stare towards Sasori.

"I don't suppose you could give me back my clay?" Sasori shook his head, and Kisame grinned toothily.

"Looks like you're running it with the rest of us, Deidara!" The blond-haired clay-user hung his head.

"I guess so, yeah. Well, we should get moving." Itachi nodded and turned away from the others.

"Let's move." As one, the Akatsuki members disappeared, as if they had never been there at all.

AN: Yo, it's me again. Just telling you guys a couple of things, then I'm gone. Firstly, this story is not meant to be serious in any way. It's just fun for me to write, and hopefully fun for you guys to read. So, don't be mad about the fact that, for example, even though Sasori's body is made out of wood, he can still laugh, breathe, etc. This is all in fun, guys.

Secondly, this is just something I thought of and had to write. If you guys want this to keep going, leave me some reviews to that effect. If not, that's cool, since I've got a million and one other projects. Well, 'til next time!

Gaereth


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